Considering purchase 3d printer for my crafts. Need Help please

Hello,
First of all thank you for the add to this forum. I am a crafty person making all sorts of things. But currently i need beaks webbed feet etc for animals Im making. I have no idea where to start. As it seems I would have to come up with my own print cad to do these. Im lost.
Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Any of the things I need to make at the moment arent any bigger that a pack of cigarettes (sorry for the comparison, I smoke so its easiest to campare size to) Just to give you an idea.
If you need info from me feel free to ask.

thanks again, looking forward to hearing from someone.

Crafty me
aka Ginny

A lot is going to come down to budget and to what print quality you need. I personally started with an Ender 3 Pro, which I still use and enjoy, however I now also have an Artillery Sidewinder X1, which gives me faster print speeds and better print quality. I will, one day, when it is more affordable to me, look at some $1000 + printers, but my budget kept me in the $300 to $600 CAD range. As far as software, there are many you can get for free as a hobbyist. For CAD design, look at something like Autodesk Fusion 360, for printing, Cura Slicer is very popular, although there are many others. I like Cura for my Sidewinder, and I use Creality Slicer for my Ender. Will try Repetier Host and maybe MeshMixer when I have time to look at them more, but there are many options available.

Thanks my budget is $400 n under. I'm attempting to go this route as I cant buy webbed feet n beaks etc. Various sizes according to the size of the animal. Ease of use is a big plus for me. Finding the patterns (?) Software for what I need I think is going to be the hardest part.
I was looking at the gender 3 as a matter of fact just dont know what or where to start. This is all new to me. Lol

@crafty me, consider to read the forums that cover the printer you are thinking of buying. You'll be able to see what types of problems others have had with that specific model. For ease of use, aim for a printer with automatic bed leveling, although that tends to jack up the price a bit. Our local library hosts our makerspace and they have an original Prusa i3 MK2s which has been nearly trouble free for three or more years. I'd expect that one can expect good results with the Prusa Mini, and it does have all the good features. A pop-off bed for easy model removal, automatic leveling, heated bed, easy assembly (save money and learn lots by building a kit) and a price in your budget.

For modeling, a good program to use for beginners is Tinkercad. It's web based and works on any type of computer. It's a drag and drop type of creation, with some limitations, but not very much.

You could also consider to examine the Sculpt feature of the also-free-for-hobbyists Fusion 360 program. It's a windows based, internet-joined program that is somewhat complex, but for sculpting beaks and feet, you may find it easier to create once you get over the tough parts. Both of these programs have tons of YouTube videos for learning the packages.

Thank you very much good info. I know I have alot of reading to do for sure.

Why are people recommending FDM printers over Resin?

A inexpensive LCD based Resin printer would be miles better for the use-case you describe.

Upsides of Resin compared to FDM

Much higher quality
Easier to use (only two variables, instead of hundreds)
Less expensive
Much Faster (dpending on print type)

Downsides of Resin are:

Print volume: the cheap resin printers have a small volume of 115mm *65mm *155mm (larger than a pack of cigarettes)
smell/fumes: it's not bad, but you'll want to setup your printer in a well ventilated area or vent it outside through a windowmess/cleanup:
washing process after printing that you don't have to deal with when printing fdm.

As opinions go, this topic, resin vs filament printer is rather volatile. Understating the post processing for a resin printer misleads the prospective purchaser. Understating the risk and danger of chemicals involved in the full process also misleads the prospective purchaser.

If the OP is considering a resin printer, it would be wise for the OP to view a number of YouTube videos for the specific printer. This also applies to the filament type printers under consideration.

If there's a problem with a filament printer, a few pennies worth of filament is thrown away. If there's a problem with an MSLA printer, the LCD panel gets to be replaced, or the leak results in a dangerous mess on the workspace. Faster? Not if one is printing fifty micron layers, but then again, if fifty micron layer resolution is needed, filament printers are not the answer.

Ginny may decide she needs the resolution from a resin printer, or that she can manage the post processing of a filament printer, but blanket statements with understated references won't help her make the decision that's best for her.

Thanks for the input. I'm still tryin to decide on what I want ease of use is a big plus. I was considering the polymer clay route but don't like the baking idea. Seems 3d printer uses less power to a point but, baked things I seem to think are more brittle n break.
If anyone wants to make me webbed feet n beaks I'd be happy to pay. I'm having a hard enough time trying to find software for whatever I choose. Thank I have a little time to decide.

Ginny, I've sent a private message via the board's system.

What sort of deadline are you experiencing? Deadlines make fun projects a bit tougher!

polymer clay is brilliant stuff, not particularly brittle.
Easy to mould, easy to cure.
Energy wise, just cook a lot at one time. It's a very low heat - if I remember right - for about half an hour.

I used to do a fair bit some years back.
Nothing ever broke.

Sounds like that's probably your best bet. :-)

Thank you. A friend uses polymer clay for a few things. I have very arthritic hands so clay for me would be only if absolutely necessary. Thank you though

Hmm, well your first job is to have a look at some cad programs - I agree tinkercad is the best place to start - and see if you can actually model the parts you want.
https://www.tinkercad.com/

For 'mass' manufacturing you could simply print a mould. and press clay into it to make the parts :-)

These sound like smallish parts so have a look at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Sel...0650584&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/TECHNOLOGY-Pr...650643&sr=8-11

https://www.amazon.com/QIDI-TECHNOLO...6-f96e7b0f409c

https://www.amazon.com/QIDI-Technolo...6-f96e7b0f409c

The qidi x-smart looks like the best little machine around. the build volume is a 6 inch or 150mm cube.
That's larger than you think.
Good manufacturer with excellent support.
It's about as plug and play as you can get :-)

Learning curve here, playing with things on Tinkercad, trying different things, not liking it n dumping it, n starting again. The printer I'm talking to people, reading lots. I want to know what im.talking about when asking questions so I'll figure out 1 day at a time. Thank you your ideas will check them out.

it takes a while to get your head around designing in 3d.

I use Openscad, I am really crap at drawing - I seem to think in 3d and appear to be missing the bit of the brian that translates a 3d image in my head into a drawn 2d flat image.

What I love about openscad is that I don't draw anything. I just tell the computer what shapes I want and where I want them, and it does all the drawing for me.
It does take a while to get into - but once you've got the hang of even basic shapes - it's amazing what you can actually make :-)

One of our maker space members won't touch openscad, especially since he recognizes that organic modeling is more difficult in text than in gui. Our group has recently discovered sculpt feature in Fusion 360, but it's a tougher curve/hill to climb. At least it's not blender!

sculptris is fun. I've yet to make anything recognsable, but it's fun :-)
https://pixologic.com/sculptris/
Give that a try.